What even is my life?
by HolmesSlice
Summary: Tony Stark meets his soulmate (m/m pairing)


Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to respective owners  
Summary: Tony Stark is dealing with some of the biggest game changers in life and in the amidst of all of the tumultuous events he meets his soulmate.  
Pairing: Tony Stark/Victor Von Doom  
Author Notes: I used OzHawk's crackship generator to generate a pairing. I also used the random feature on Tumblr to generate a dialogue prompt from Promptly-Written. The dialogue that I generated was "That's not a decision you get to make any longer." Please read and review. Don't like? Don't read. Thank you.

 **What even is my life?**

Tony Stark sat in the chair with the United Nations panel in front of him. The hearing about the Superhero Registration Act through the newly formed Sentient World Observation and Response Department. S.W.O.R.D. was still having kinks being worked out with Major Carol Danvers from the Airforce (she came highly recommended by Rhodey) being appointed the task of filling the council positions. He was going to address many of the issues that developed while dealing with the threat in Sokovia. The hearing was going to happen in about ten minutes time. It was going to be a very burdensome ten minutes. He could imagine the introduction on some news channel introduce him while giving a succinct description of why he was there. He knew that this was what was always coming. It was also the kind of shit he was trying to prevent Captain Rogers from worsening.

They were already in hellish temperature water for the Sokovian disaster. It was highly likely that they were going to bring up Sokovia despite the U.S. Senate hearings due to the fact that the Avengers operated on international soil without so much as an authorization from any government entity. Then add to the fact that they had done it–twice. The first time round they basically "instigated" it by attacking a Hydra base that while be completely evil had been a stable evil that was not putting the nearby town in jeopardy.

The Avengers attacked the base with good reason but in turn put the townspeople in harm's way. Would the world say that their intent (of securing a highly volatile space cube) outweigh the damage and casualties? Would that only seem even more incriminating considering that the volatile space cube eventually produced a sentient being? (Though that revelation would have to be hidden from the public eye even if there was always the protests of wanting more transparency even if Vision was a new member of the Avengers).

There had been no constitutional provision that allowed Avengers some freedom to respond if an emergency presented itself–not in the United States, Sokovia or in the United Nations. Then there was sticky widget of Tony Stark creating the problem in the first place. It might not have been entirely his fault (something he was still coming to terms with–the guilt was going to be with him for a long time) but the world wasn't going to see it that way. Besides, how could he throw Wanda under the bus when her own autonomy was stripped when she was under the thumb (to put it glibly Tony chided himself) of Strucker and List?

There was the problem of creating the drones that were being criticized from all different angles from how his Iron Man legion was simply another form of American aggression to how the Avengers were now a paramilitary group, basically vigilantes but with much more of a destructive force.

The fact that Steve was going rogue wasn't going to help anyone. Sure, Tony could respect Steve for wanting to stay "to the end of the line" for his best friend Bucky. However, there had to have been a better way than skirting what could easily be seen an act of war. There had to have been some way of using Congressional hearings and the like in their favor, right? Aiding and abetting a serious deal war criminal couldn't be spun for long.

There'd be an outcry from the Captain's fans but it'd be easily dismissed from serious media outlets. In fact it wouldn't surprise Tony if they somehow brought out allegations of how "cult-like" or "brain-washed" these citizens were to the point they were more concerned about the Bucky/Steve relationship (in any form) then they were for the safety of the country. Could Steve be labeled as a terrorist? Tony scoffed at himself, no, he couldn't see them going that far since white men would almost be spun as mentally ill. So instead, some media outlets would say that Captain Rogers was suffering from long term PTSD as well as serious issues of re-entering society after being in animated suspension for so long–much like a soldier returning home from active duty.

Natasha sat next to him her face was stone cold badassery. He definitely wished he had her ability at times. Of course, he'd never tell her. He looked at her and gave a strained smile.

She gave a small smile that Tony couldn't help but see as duplicitous. That could have been due to her life being a spy or it could have been due to the fact that she was likely playing both sides. With Hawkeye firmly on Captain Roger's side, Tony wouldn't expect anything less. He could even understand why Hawkeye would want to remain as anonymous as possible. He had a family to protect. He glanced over at Natasha's face catching her eye, he nodded slightly. Natasha also felt duty-bound to Clint especially after the Loki incident. She still didn't forgive herself, that particular red was going to stain her ledger for a lifetime.

Tony could hardly believe he was at this hearing to help push for the Superhero Registration Act truth be told. He was Tony-freaking-Stark. He was the one who but a handful of years ago was more concerned about trying to accomplish his goal of sleeping with each playmate of the year, and whose idea of fun was going to guest lectures drunk to fuck with his fellow peers. Yet here he was promoting big brother! The very same big brother that he flipped the proverbial middle finger from which incidentally saved his intellectual property from falling into the hands of Hydra.

Fuck, Tony thought to himself gravely, what if there's still remnants of Hydra still around? There'd have to be right? Maybe slithering out from whatever rock they crawled out from to reform or rebrand itself.

There was quite a lot that was plaguing Tony's mind. On top of that Tony had to work harder on keeping all information he had so far gathered so locked up that even J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't crack his own system back when he was still J.A.R.V.I.S. He'd leave the more innocuous documents on his "secret" server. The server that Natasha supposedly had no idea it existed. Of course she it knew it existed. Tony expected that much. He also expected her to hack into the server to leak to Team Captain.

The hearing started much how he expected. Thankfully had Maria Hill, and Darcy Lewis (who consented begrudgingly with adequate compensation) help him prepare. He gave a slight breath of relief when the United Nations at least recognized everything that Stark Industries was doing in the reparations to the Sokovian people and government. It went beyond patching up broken buildings, constructing new streets, it included helping fortify the infrastructure of the country. The added bonus was finding a way where Stark Industries could write it as a tax-write off. If there was anything to be said of Pearson Specter and Litt, it was that Louis Litt was an absolute beast when it came to the financial aspects of corporate law.

The next part came into who was going to provide oversight of the Avengers. Since clearly it was always going to be a point of contention that started with the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and would be a delicate issue until said council was formed. The fact that Pierce was Hydra and possibly other members was left unsaid but definitely weighed on everyone's mind. What Tony and Natasha had hoped as that they still could have enough agency to operate without being micromanaged so much that they'd become bogged down with bureaucratic red tape or puppets for the various government's own agenda (Can anyone say Iraq war? Tony's mind commented). More so when there had been allegations that the World Council had been compromised. They were referring to Councilman Singh, from India, who was on the council and happened to let the Lemurian Star operate in the Indian Ocean.

It was not going as well as Tony Stark was hoping. What was essentially happening was that the United Nations wanted to have a very tight leash on the Avengers. That tight leash also meant overseeing any and all operations that were related to the Avengers. So those Iron Man legions? Since they were essentially created under the Avengers clock, it would fall under the UN's perusal. Tony made a mental note to create a provision in the Act that would clearly define what that definitively mean. He didn't allow the U.S. Government to take away his intellectual property when he created the suit, and he sure as well wouldn't let that happen now. His sass and biting remarks (he may have dropped the name of a certain senator who was so very adament of obtaining the schematics of suit, and oh yeah, he was Hydra.) The not-so-subtle Hydra accusation made everyone pause. It was enough that he was able to direct the flow of conversation to what kind of leash the United Nations wanted. Again he used humor to deflect from the agenda earlier in the hearing commenting on how he was always privy to leather leashes, maybe something that embodied ACDC. He was hoping that by laying the humor the panel would understand his meaning: that the Avengers would decide what kind of leash they would have and the owners as well.

What he didn't expect was meeting soulmate.

"That's not a decision you get to make any longer," Doom looking at him from his seat at the council. Doom shuffled the notes of paper together, his pen scrolling down the paper lightly, and before he could continue, Tony interrupted him.

"I bring to the United Nations of whether or not there is a provision in the event that someone meets their soulmate while in attendance of a hearing," Tony asked but addressing Doom directly.

There was an immediate uproar as nearly everyone questioned the credibility, that it was merely for attention, that it was a way to delay the hearing, that it was a PR media tactic and many other accusations were flung. It was soon decided that there would be an hour recess whereby those who supposedly each other's soulmarked could in fact verify this.

Tony Stark walked down the hallway with security guards on either side. That full plate was now overflowing. Not only did he have all this shit to deal with he now also had possibly a soulmate who was a dictator, well, technically absolute monarch, who happened to be Victor Von Doom arch-nemesis to the Fantastic Four. This was Murphy's law in spades. No sooner was Stark left alone with Doom, did Doom address the large elephant in the room.

"Your mark is what spurned me on being accepted by the UN," Doom explained, "and before you bring it up, no, my country being a dictatorship as I took power forcefully and the subsequent absolute monarchy is not an issue with the United Nations, you do remember Cuba yes?"

"Yes I remember Cuba," Tony commented.

"Well then I am glad your education is as excellent as I've heard," Doom said smiling, "Though I suppose there should be an order of the proceedings, undoubtedly, it's being currently drafted as we speak."

"Right I show you mine, you show me yours," Tony said as he untucked his button-up shirt, unbuckling his belt, undoing his button and zipper and bringing down his pants enough so that Doom's soulmark appeared.

Doom stared intently at the soulmark resisting the urge to caress it with his finger. He restrained a shutter realizing the position he'd have to be in in order to bond. Quite ironic that a king would be the bottom. The irony also that he'd be taken to the mattresses since his entire life had been one instance after another of taking it to the mattresses.

Tony poured himself some scotch as took in everything that was Doom. He was going to ignore the political implications because he could later and because he was going to at least relish in the idea of finding his soulmate. Though it wasn't lost on him that it was his soulmark that made him so damn rebellious. It must have been a deep seeded kink to have someone "lord" over him, and a king no less. Though from the placement of the soulmark, it was going to be a very specific position that Tony did not mind at all. From a brief look at Doom's glazed over stare, he didn't mind much either.

Tony couldn't help but let out a husky, tired, what-is-even-my-life laugh as Doom joined in. Both knew this was going to be an interesting relationship and the coming storm (thank you Darcy Lewis for showing me that gif, his mind commented) could be dealt with later. Well in about twenty fives minutes' time and in the meantime there was much they could do.


End file.
